Why You Need To Build Your Personal Brand (For Players AND Coaches) ft. Danny Cooper

So I think a thing that a lot of players don't think about, but we're seeing in our 2022 world now is personal branding. So kind of tying back into the attitude, the accountability, the way that you portray yourself and the way that you carry yourself is so important in today's world, especially because you can monetize your name. Monetize for all the young players out there is making money off of your name, image, and likeness. So as you see my brand here, I try to carry myself everywhere I go, with class, with how I want people to think of me, and how I want people to remember me. So I think what you young players can think about is how am I building my personal brand? How is this teacher? When I'm out of the room, what do they say about me? How does. What does my coach say about me? What does my teammates, parents think about me? And I think that can go such a long way, not only when you're 13 and 14 years old, but now when you're 20, 21, and you maybe want to get hired for a job or maybe you want to start that business with your teammate. Right? So I think personal branding and just being the best that you can be in all aspects of your life can go such a long way. And, you know, the opportunities. Now, I always say this to people, like, we are living in the greatest era in human history. And Gary Vee says this a lot. And, you know, it really. It really hits me because when. When ever before in history could you, like, kind of what you're doing right now, I mean, whenever, before in history, 20 years ago, could you talk about basketball, like, on the Internet to a bunch of people and profit off of it and make a living off of it and impact people off of it. So I just think being aware that the opportunity is there to not only talk about things that you love and monetize off it, but also being able to impact so many people. And that all starts with your personal brand and how you carry yourself day in and day out. So if I could leave you all with something, I think that is. That's the main thing, and that's what I'm trying to do. Impact as many people as I can while building my personal brand. And also. Yeah, just. Just enjoying the process and living day by day.

So, yeah, man. And that, I think.

Sorry to cut it. I think Ethan's a living. A living testament of that. Like, started this podcast on YouTube, what, two years ago?

Not even. Yeah, actually, it gets to be a little over. Yeah. A little over two years ago. Right.

And in 1992, our parents could not do that. So I think just recognizing the opportunity that we have. And Ethan's a great example of capitalizing on, capitalizing on, you know, identifying your hobby, identifying something that you love and then sharing it with the world. And you can literally do that for a living. So I think it's just, it's very cool the times that we're in.

Yeah, absolutely, man. And, and I think at the same time, like, that's, that's where, where you're going, man. And I see it like, you know, especially the, the ones who are really bought into. Like, we're talking about books that you're reading, and you're like, man, I'm getting books on this and on that. And I think having that approach to it just being like, this is what I'm going to do. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like, you got your shipment in, you know, like, you've got your. You got your stack of books ready to go. Like, when you, when you're really bought in and like, that's, that's what you want to do, you say, listen, like, I am passionate about this topic, or I feel like I can help people when it comes to this topic. And I'm just going to go all in on, you know, trying to maximize the impact that I have. Right. If that's always at the forefront of what you do, like, what is my impact in the situation? How can I impact more? And that might be, you know, as a trainer, like, you're not just somebody who, you know, works out with a player and then you see him next time, you know, maybe you go to their game, or maybe you at least watch their game and then you send them some feedback or you ask them, oh, hey, how are things going? Like, is there anything that, you know, you're struggling with? And I think that's where you can have a bigger impact. So it almost becomes like, it's not about the workout, it's not about the training, it's about my overall impacts. And that's, That's a training perspective. But obviously, like you said, building your brand so important. And I tell my players too, like, when you are, whether. Whatever you think you are as a player, when I talk about, like, you know, my. The players who want to play at the next level, like, if you might think that you are, you should be an All American, or you might think that you're. You should be, you know, scholarship level, player, whatever. When you have a coach, like, here's a good example. If you have a coach come up to you from any level of any school and they are interested in you playing for them, right? I think what, and I've seen it like players will think like, oh no, I'm not playing at that level. Like I'm above that level. And they almost big time that coach. And the, the problem with doing that is that it's not just about that coach. Like, yeah, you might, maybe you won't play at that program. Maybe you are better than friends. That's exactly what I'm saying, man. Like it's all intertwined. So when you have that negative, you know, when, when that coach, who knows a coach at a conference, you know, at a scholarship that you want to play in and he's like, you know, oh, hey, you know, have you seen so and so play or have you met them before? And they're like, yeah, you know, he kind of big time me and you know, now all of a sudden you don't even have to talk to that coach. He, he might cross you off the list and move down to the next, to the next guy because he's got 50 other dudes on his, on his list. And he's like, well I'm not, I don't need that, so why would I continue to do that? And it's just because people know each other. So your impact and your reputation and your brand, like it literally starts when you are like, even if you're not doing anything on the Internet, you have a brand right now and you're that brand. A lot of times precedes you. Like people, people might not even meet you, but they know somebody who knows you. You guys can all think about this. You, you, there's somebody that you could think of that you've never talked to, but you've heard enough stories about them that you don't even want to talk to them, right? And that can be you. If you don't protect your brand, you don't go, you know, no, no Under Armour affiliation with that one. But if you don't, you know, do the right things to keep your, your reputation intact. And I think that players need to understand that. Like you said, Danny, how does this teacher think? What does the teacher think of me when, when you know, my coach asks about you? Because a lot of, a lot of times like players will be one way on the court, but then you go talk to their teachers and it's just like a complete 180, you know. So I think that that impact and building your brands, it starts right now for Everybody. And the better. And the more that you protect that brand, the farther you're going to be able to get, and the more people are going to be in your corner as well with that. Yeah.

And we can end on this. Kind of. Kind of a thought I have on a daily basis is, if somebody was talking about me to their friends or talking about me behind my back, what would they be saying? And that's kind of a thought that kind of runs through my mind every day. So obviously you want them to be saying good things. So I think every person you meet, making that impression, having them, then when they go talk to their friends, say positive things. Every interaction that I have, I'm trying to make sure that when they go do that, they're saying good things. And just to add on real quick, I think attitude and body language kind of tying into this is so important. So I'm telling you, coaches watch film to look for that stuff. So especially if you're recruiting a player, you want to know everything about him. And one of those things is, how is he as a teammate when he's on the bench, does he clap for his teammates? Does he stand up and celebrate, or does he sit there and kind of sulk on the bench? Or when he comes out the game, does he sprint off the floor or does he kind of walk and shake his head? So I think adding into all the personal branding, adding into all the how do you carry yourself on the court, especially if you are trying to get recruited or if a coach is watching your game, that stuff can be even more important than how many points you score or your defense. They want high character individuals. That's ultimately what matters at the college level.